Available online a t www.scholarsresearchlibrary.com Scholars Research Library J. Nat. Prod. Plant Resour ., 2012, 2 (2):215-220 (http://scholarsresearchlibrary.com/archive.html) ISSN : 2231 – 3184 CODEN (USA): JNPPB7 Isolation of microbial endophytes from some ethnomedicinal plants of Jammu and Kashmir Maroof Ahmed, Muzaffer Hussain, Manoj K. Dhar and Sanjana Kaul School of Biotechnology, University of Jammu, Jammu ______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT Endophytes are the plant-associated microorganisms that live within the living tissues of their host plants without causing any harm to them. Almost all groups of microorganisms have been found in endophytic association with plants may it be fungi, bacteria or actinomycetes. They stimulate the production of secondary metabolites with a diverse range of biological activities. They have been known to produce enormous variety of strange and wonderful secondary metabolites, some of which have profound biological activities that can be exploited for human health and welfare. Some of the endophytic microorganisms can produce the same secondary metabolites as that of the plant thus making them a promising source of novel compounds. During the present investigation, endophytes were isolated for the first time from the symptomless leaves, stem, fruits and roots of the four selected ethnomedicinal plants. The ethnomedicinal angiosperms include Digitalis lanata (wooly foxglove), Digitalis purpurea (purple foxglove), Plantago ovata (psyllium/isabgol), Dioscorea bulbifera (air potato). A total of one hundred and thirty two isolates of microbial endophytes were isolated. Dioscorea bulbifera belongs to the dioscoreaceae family and the rest belong to the plantaginaceae family. The major constituents of these plants belong to the steroidal and iridoid family of secondary metabolites, having enormous applications in the medicinal/pharmaceutical arenas. Keywords : Endophytes, Secondary metabolites, Ethnomedicinal, Steroid, Iridoid. ______________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Medicinal plants are gaining global attention owing to the fact that the herbal drugs are cost effective, easily available and with negligible side effects. The beneficial effects of the medicinal plants in health care can be well judged from the WHO estimate that around 80% of the world population uses them in some form or the other. It is important to note that homeopathy and modern medicine have their roots in medicinal plants. The compounds derived from medicinal plants form the ingredients of analgesics, antibiotics, heart drugs, laxatives, anti-cancer agents, ulcer treatments, contraceptives, diuretics etc. Compounds from plants are referred as plant secondary metabolites , phytochemicals , anti -nutritional factors , plant xenobiotics etc. Some of the major plant secondary metabolites or phytochemicals that occur in plants include protease inhibitors, lectins, alkaloids, non-protein amino acids, cyanogenic glycosides, saponins, steroids and tannins. Secondary metabolites have complex and unique structure and their production is often enhanced by both biotic and abiotic stresses [1]. Plant based natural constituents can be derived from any part of the plant like bark, 215 Scholars Research Library Maroof Ahmed et al J. Nat. Prod. Plant Resour ., 2012, 2 (2):215-220 ______________________________________________________________________________ leaves, flowers, fruits, roots, seeds etc. [2]. The most important bioactive compounds from medicinal plants include terpenes, alkaloids, phenolic compounds, steroidal compounds and flavonoids [3]. Endophytes are defined as microorganisms which inhabit inside of healthy plant tissues and are now considered as ubiquitous symbionts of plants from their surprisingly common detection from many plant species [4]. Common endophytes include a variety of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes, and they can be isolated from wild [5] or cultivated crops [6] of either the monocots [7] or dicots [8]. Among the microbial group the most frequently isolated endophytes are the fungi. Endophytic fungi are considered as an outstanding source of bioactive natural products because there are so many of them occupying millions of unique biological niches growing in different types of environment. Plants infected with fungal endophytes are often healthier than endophyte free ones [9]. Digitalis is a genus comprising of about 20 species of herbaceous biennials, perennials and shrubs in the foxglove family Plantaginaceae. The use of Digitalis extract containing cardiac glycosides for the treatment of heart conditions was first described by William Withering in 1785, which is considered the beginning of modern therapeutics (Silverman). Treatments with drugs based on Digitalis extracts are some of the best known pharmaceutical products used to strengthen cardiac diffusion and to regulate heart rhythm [10]. Cardiac glycosides from Digitalis are a class of natural products that are used to increase cardiac contractile force in patients with congestive heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias [11]. The most familiar glycosides from Digitalis are digoxin and digitoxin, which are derived from Digitalis lanata and Digitalis purpurea respectively. Their mechanism of action in the heart are well known and involve inhibition of the plasma membrane Na +/K +-ATPase [12], leading to increased intracellular Na + and Ca 2+ and decreased intracellular K + [13]. The increased intracellular Ca 2+ promotes muscle contraction and cardiac contractile force. Digitalis has been reported to produce cardiotonic drugs and is widely used in the treatment of various heart conditions namely atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter and sometimes heart failure that cannot be controlled by other medications. Plantago is a genus of about 200 species of small, inconspicuous plants commonly called plantains and belongs to the family Plantaginaceae. Plantago species have been used since prehistoric times as herbal remedy. The herb is astringent, anti-toxic, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory. Plantago ovata also known as Psyllium, Ispaghula and Isapgol is one of the important species of this genus and has a long history of use throughout the world. Some of the uses of psyllium in traditional medicine are as laxative, emollient, demulcent, and diuretic. Its seed contains mucilage, fatty oil, large quantities of albuminous matter, the pharmacologically inactive glucoside, namely aucubin (C 13 H19 O8 H2O) and a plantiose sugar [14]. It is a diuretic, alleviates kidney and bladder complaints, gonorrhea, arthritis and hemorrhoids [15]. Dioscorea is a genus of over 600 species of flowering plants in the family Dioscoreaceae. They are commonly known as yams and have been traditionally used to lower glycemic index. Dioscorea bulbifera , the ‘air potato’, has been used in the Chinese system of medicine to treat diseases of the lungs, kidneys and spleen, and many types of diarrhoea. Diosgenin and related steroidal saponins commonly found in Dioscorea plants have shown antitumor, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory activities [16,17]. Mbiantcha et al . (2010) studied the analgesic and anti- inflammatory properties of extracts from the bulbils of Dioscorea bulbifera in mice and rats [18]. Earlier chemical investigations of D. bulbifera yielded flavonoids, clerodane diterpenoids and a few steroidal saponins [19-22]. In the present study, efforts have been made to isolate endophytes inhabiting the four selected ethnomedicinal plants i.e. Digitalis purpurea , Digitalis lanata, Plantago ovata and Dioscorea bulbifera . The isolated endophytic assemblage was then arranged according to the type of endophyte (fungi, bacteria, actinomycete) and accessioned accordingly depending upon the type of the plant from which they have been isolated. MATERIALS AND METHODS Selection of the Plant material The medicinal plants used in the present study were selected after proper literature survey using internet, books and journals of the departmental and central library of the University of Jammu. Keeping in view the medicinal/pharmaceutical applications, following medicinal plants were selected for this study - Digitalis purpurea, Digitalis lanata, Plantago ovata and Dioscorea bulbifera. 216 Scholars Research Library Maroof Ahmed et al J. Nat. Prod. Plant Resour ., 2012, 2 (2):215-220 ______________________________________________________________________________ Collection of the plant material The medicinal plants selected for the present investigation were collected from their natural habitats. Digitalis purpurea and Digitalis lanata were collected from Gulmarg (altitude 2730 meters, district Baramulla, J & K State), Plantago ovata was collected from Jammu University, Germplasm Collection (district Jammu) and Dioscorea bulbifera from district Rajouri of J&K state. Disease free parts of the plants were cut with the help of a sterile scalpel and placed in zip-lock plastic bags to store the material at 4 0C until isolation. Isolation of endophytes (a) Surface sterilization of the plant matertial The method most frequently utilised to detect and quantify endophytes involves isolation from surface-sterilized host plant tissues. Endophytic isolation was carried out under aseptic conditions. Different symptomless parts of the selected ethnomedicinal plants such as stem cuttings, leaves, fruits and roots were used for the isolation of endophytes [23]. The collected plant material used for